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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This is one of the better
articles I’ve seen written on the subject.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Court
Orders Restoration of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> Flows!<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>By Dan
Bacher<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In a landmark decision
greeted with jubilation by representatives of the Hoopa and Yurok tribes, the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the release of flows proscribed under
the Trinity River Record of Decision (ROD) of December 2000.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“Nothing remains to
prevent the full implementation of the ROD, including its complete flow plan
for the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>,” the Court ruled
on Tuesday, July 13.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“We’re just
elated,” said <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Clifford Lyle Marshall</st1:PersonName>,
chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “Hoopa is a very happy town. The
timing of the decision surprised us, since we were told the decision could go
either way.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Marshall</span></font></st1:place></st1:City>
said the decision would compel the federal Bureau of Reclamation to release 47
percent of river flows for fish and 53 percent for agriculture and power. Prior
to the ROD, up to 90 percent of the river had been diverted to agriculture and
power users, resulting in dramatic declines in salmon and steelhead
populations.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"This decision is
awesome," said <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Marshall</st1:place></st1:City>.
"The river is a vital part of the economy of our tribe and the <st1:place
w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place> economy. The decision gives the river
the priority it deserved in the first place. It means that the river will get
water, salmon runs will come back, tourism will return, recreational fishermen
will come back, people will be eating in the local restaurants, and the
commercial salmon fishery may be sustained."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Although <st1:City w:st="on">Marshall</st1:City>
said the court made its decision based on the law and over 20 years of
scientific studies, the outpouring of support for <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place> restoration by the public, newspapers and politicians
through the state had a lot to do with the victory.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"It wasn't a case of
Indians versus farmers," emphasized <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Marshall</st1:place></st1:City>.
"The people of <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> raised their
voice to support the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>. The river
should be regarded as a national treasure. We had a great alliance of people,
with lot of efforts on many fronts. Public opinion drives public policy - and
the people of <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> decided that for a
small price, the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> could be restored."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Westlands Water
District, in conjunction with the Northern California Power Association and
SMUD, filed suit against the federal government in 2000 right after former
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt issued his ROD. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>However, a broad coalition
of Indian Tribes, commercial fishermen, recreational anglers and environmental
groups forced the SMUD and three members of the NCPA- Palo Alto, the <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Port</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Oakland</st1:PlaceName>
and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alameda</st1:place></st1:City> to
pull out over the past 1-1-/2 years.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Whether Westlands, the
largest federal irrigation project in the country, will appeal the case to the
next step, the U.S. Supreme Court, is unknown at this time.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“We are still
reviewing the decision,” said Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Westlands
Water District. “It is a complicated decision although it appears to
overturn Judge Wanger’s decision on a number of grounds. We are looking
at the overall impact of the decision on Central Valley Project water
users.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hull</span></font></st1:place></st1:City>
noted that Westlands is continuing to pursue settlement talks with the Tribes,
even though these talks have been unsuccessful in the past. “We believe
that there is still an opportunity for people of goodwill from the different
parties to protect their interests, including the Trinity River fishery,”
said <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hull</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Troy Fletcher, executive
director of the Yurok Tribe, said he is “optimistically
enthusiastic” about the decision, but noted that litigation could
continue if Westlands decides to appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“The bottom line is
that the fish won in this round,” said Fletcher. “Now there is a need
to defend this ruling and to make sure that the ROD is implementing the
decision.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Tom Stokely, senior
resource planner <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Trinity</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>, and <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Byron Leydecker</st1:PersonName>,
president of Friends of the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>,
were likewise optimistic about the outcome of the decision.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“It is likely the
SEIS that Judge Oliver Wanger ordered will disappear and that the ROD will move
ahead,” said Stokely. “We plan on finishing building the bridges
that will be required to release more water down the river.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Stokely said that the
decision, when implemented, would result in an approximate doubling of the
total volume of water released down the river. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“Salmon need water
to thrive, so this will have a very beneficial effect on the fishery,” he
noted.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“After 39 years,
the law has been finally upheld,” said Leydecker. “On this one
issue, the Bureau of Reclamation can’t operate without regard to the law.
We have a long way to go until we see full <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>
restoration, but this is a major victory.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Although this decision
portends well for the future of salmon fisheries, the prospects for this
year’s salmon runs on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers are looking dire
because of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s granted 100 percent of contract
flows to agricultural water users in the Klamath Basin of Southern Oregon,
according to Troy Fletcher.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Department of
Interior, under pressure from Bush’s political strategist Karl Rover to
curry favor among agribusiness for the reelection campaign of a Republican
Senator in Oregon, decided to cut off flows for fish and divert them to
subsidized agribusiness in the Klamath Basin in 2001. The change in water
policy by the Bush administration resulted in the largest fish kill in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> history in
September 2002 when over 34,000 salmon perished. The majority of these fish
were destined for the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>, the
Klamath’s largest tributary.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“We are extremely
concerned that we will see a repeat of the 20002 fish this fall because the
federal government decided to give water to agriculture at the expense of
fish,” said Fletcher. “After being classified as a below average
year, the year was reclassified by the Bureau as a dry year in May. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We need flows for fish
throughout the year, but flows have been greatly reduced this summer.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hopefully, we will see a
cooler-than-average summer and fall so an outbreak of disease among adult
chinooks in warm water conditions doesn’t take place like it did in
September 2002. Meanwhile, we can thank the Ninth Circuit Court for upholding
the law and science in ordering the implementation of the Trinity River Record
of Decision.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Consultant, California Trout, Inc.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 ce</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</font></i></em></a><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman"> (secondary)</font></i></em><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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